White Sox Sign Free-Agent Outfielder Austin Slater

The Chicago White Sox have reportedly signed free-agent outfielder Austin Slater, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The terms of the deal have not yet been released. 

Slater marks an interesting acquisition for the White Sox. In recent years he has been rarely used in lineups against right-handed pitching but has posted solid numbers against southpaws. Once the move is made official, he will be added to the club's 40-man roster where he will likely compete with Dominic Fletcher and Zach DeLoach for playing time in right field.

Slater could also be viewed as a trade piece the White Sox could try to flip at the deadline, given that he was already traded twice last year. If Getz tries to trade Luis Robert Jr. or Andrew Benintendi this offseason then Slater could simply be viewed as extra outfield depth.

The 31-year-old outfielder spent the first decade of his professional career in the Giants organization after being selected in the eighth round of the 2014 draft out of Stanford. He made his big league debut in 2017, mainly serving as a fourth outfielder during his first three seasons in the show. During Slater’s eight seasons with the Giants, he slashed .254/.344/.391 with 39 home runs and 162 RBIs. While his offensive numbers don’t jump off the page he has shown the ability to draw walks, owning a career 10.6 percent walk rate.

Slater has never been much for power. His career high in homers came in 2021 when he hit 12. Some of his offensive struggles are due to his troubles getting the ball in the air. His career 52.4 percent groundball rate is nearly ten percent higher than the league average. He also owns a gaudy 27.7 percent strikeout rate which is also five percent higher than the MLB average. 

On the defensive side, he has played over 100 games at all three outfield positions. However, he also has 29 games at first base and appearances at both second and third base under his belt.

His best season came during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign when he slashed .282/.408/.506 with a 150 wRC+. That earned him a spot in the Giant's everyday lineup against left-handed pitching for the next three seasons. Unfortunately for Slater, injuries limited him to less than 130 games in each of the last three seasons. 

After spending seven-plus seasons as a fourth outfielder in San Fransisco, Slater was traded to the Reds for left-hander Alex Young on July 7. He was then traded to the Orioles after just eight games with the Reds on July 30. While in Baltimore he worked briefly with the White Sox new hitting director of hitting, Ryan Fuller, who spent the last three seasons as the Orioles' co-hitting coach. 

Slater was struggling at the plate before coming to Baltimore. In his first 112 plate appearances of 2024, he was hitting just .200 with a strikeout rate north of 27 percent. Slater got just 79 plate appearances with the Orioles but made the most of them down the stretch, slashing .246/.342/.333. He also posted a 114 wRC+ against left-handers. 

White Sox bats struggled with southpaws last season, making Slater a cheap option to try and address some of those struggles. He will likely head into Opening Day in an outfield-platoon role for the White Sox.